Practical guide to Python optimization: cProfile, line_profiler, generators, itertools, and common performance pitfalls in production code.
Optimal Python Code: From Profiling to Memory Efficiency Read Post »
strace, gdb and ltrace all stand on one syscall. Anatomy of ptrace: syscall stops, signal injection, int3 breakpoints and the real cost of tracing a process.
How to build a production MCP server in Python: protocol architecture, FastMCP, stdio vs Streamable HTTP transport, security, and the 2026-07-28 stateless core.
Building an MCP Server in Python — Architecture, FastMCP, and Production Code Read Post »
How signals work in Linux: delivery, dispositions, why SIGKILL is uncatchable, SIGCHLD and zombies, and async-signal-safety in handlers.
Signals in Linux — SIGKILL, SIGTERM, SIGCHLD and the Anatomy of a Handler Read Post »
Why pthread_mutex_lock usually doesn’t make a syscall. The userspace fast path (atomic CAS), the FUTEX_WAIT/WAKE slow path under contention, thundering herd, and cross-process futexes.
Why databases map files instead of reading through read(). Demand paging, MAP_SHARED vs MAP_PRIVATE, the relationship with the page cache, and when mmap is a trap (SIGBUS, small files, random writes).
mmap — When Memory-Mapped I/O Beats read() and write() Read Post »
Why free() doesn’t return memory to the system. Arenas, bins, chunks, the brk vs mmap boundary, the mechanics of fragmentation, and when jemalloc beats the default glibc allocator.
malloc internals — Why free() Doesn’t Return Memory to the System Read Post »
awk isn’t a one-liner for cutting columns — it’s a Turing-complete language. The record-field model, associative arrays, state machines, mawk vs gawk, and when awk beats Python by an order of magnitude.
awk as a Full Programming Language — Not Just {print $2} Read Post »
What happens before main() runs. The ELF format, ld.so, GOT/PLT, lazy binding, and LD_PRELOAD as an interposition vector — the full mechanics of loading a dynamically linked program.
ELF and Dynamic Linking — What Happens Before main() Runs Read Post »
Most engineers know strace -p PID as a panic button. How to read its output, use -f/-c/-k, and observe the syscall boundary when your logs lie.
strace as a Debugging Primitive — When the Stack Trace Lies Read Post »